


The Real Ending of Gravity Falls

by FireGriffin



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: ... kinda tragic, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But less happy, Fix-It Ending, Gen, brace yourself for a sad ending, but should be awesome anyway, mabel grabs the right backpack so doesn't have a chance to hand over the spacetime rift thingy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-04-14 16:44:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 13,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14140224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireGriffin/pseuds/FireGriffin
Summary: Mabel decides to hunt down Bill Cipher on her own after being rejected as Ford's apprentice. Discovering the zodiac that can defeat him for good, she attempts to bring everyone together to stand in that fateful circle. Unfortunately, Bill Cipher has other plans... (Starts during the events of "Dipper and Mabel vs The Future".)





	1. Prologue

Guess what? It’s me! Bill! Guess you didn’t see that one coming, did you? Just kidding! None of you were stupid enough to believe I was _gone,_ did you? Okay, okay, so it was a pretty great ending, dontcha think? I would know, because I made it! Just like those prison bubbles, I made a happy ending for you squishy little melon heads so you’d stop crying! _Oh no, Bill’s gonna crush Gravity Falls!_ Ha! You all are pathetic! Anyway, I’m sick of looking at your happy little faces! So the jig’s up, folks! Time to hear _the real story of Weirdmageddon!_ It just doesn’t get weirder than this! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Wait, am I forgetting something? Oh right, the narrator! Just kidding, I don’t need a narrator. I’ll just project the story into your minds!

Kachapow, and we are live! *shooty fingers*


	2. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill here again! I'll contain myself to the chapter summaries. An interdimensional being's gotta work with "less is more", right? That's what's up with the tiny top hat! Betcha can't guess how far back I started lying to you to make you feel better? Come on, take a guess! Ha ha, nope! Way further back than that! Mabel didn't even grab the wrong backpack!

Dipper practically danced into the room. “I’ve just had the best day of my life! You won’t believe it, Mabel!”  
  
“…Mabel?”  
  
She didn’t move from her position on the couch. “Tell me it’s not true, Dipper. Tell me you were joking.” She sighed. “Ford’s apprentice? Seriously?”  
  
Dipper sat down on the couch beside her. “Look… I’ve been thinking about it, and-“  
  
“Well, don’t! Why does everything have to be about your brain? Why can’t you think with your heart for once?”  
  
“Woah, Mabel… I thought you’d be happy for me?”  
  
“Dipper, I just had the worst day of my life! When we turn thirteen, and Summer ends, I have to leave everything behind. But you’ll always be with me. You’re supposed to be always with me!”  
  
“What, like Grunkle Stan and Ford? You’re just going to… take my chance away?”  
  
“This is nothing like that! You’re just- rraaaugh!!”  
  
Mabel buried her face into her sweater and screamed. “No one can come to our birthday party! High school is going to suck! And now you’re abandoning me!”  
  
She jumped to her feet, hands balled into fists. Dipper stood up as well. “Can’t you just hear me out?” he said sharply. “I saw aliens today, Mabel. ALIENS! And I almost DIED! Uncle Ford almost disappeared forever!”  
  
“RRAAAUGH!” Mabel shoved him back onto the couch. “I literally died, and you don’t even-!”  
  
“That doesn’t even make any sense!”  
  
Mabel grabbed a backpack and made a run for it.  
  
“Mabel, wait!” Dipper cried. “You can’t just run away!”  
  
He didn’t chase after her.  
  
~  
  
Mabel ran. She ran away from Dipper, and from Ford, and most importantly, from the end of Summer.  
  
Finally, she collapsed at the base of a tree. “Only chocolate can make me feel better right now,” she muttered, taking a bar of it out of her bag. She ate it and slumped further down against the tree.  
  
~  
  
Dipper ran downstairs. “Mabel ran out into the forest! She could be anywhere!”  
  
“Huh?” Wendy was dusting off snow globes downstairs. “Dude. You look like a mess. What happened?”  
  
Dipper sat down beside the front counter, resting his face in his hands. “I don’t know. Mabel apparently had the worst day ever, and now she hates me, and-“  
  
“Woah, Mabel’s mad at you?”  
  
Dipper nodded.  
  
“Like, how mad?”  
  
Dipper looked up at her, eyes wide.  
  
“So it’s bad,” Wendy amended. She set down her dusting cloth. “If it were me, I’d say give her some alone time. She’ll get over it.”  
  
“No, that’s- I get it, but she ran out into the forest, and Bill could be out there!”  
  
“Ohhhh, that protective shield thing. Gotcha. Wellllll… I kinda did freak her out about high school. Maybe I should talk to her.”  
  
Dipper sighed the most consternated sigh in history.  
  
“Cover for me?” Wendy said, patting him on the shoulder.  
  
Dipper nodded without looking up.  
  
“I’ll make sure Bill’s not… eating her teeth or whatever.”  
  
Dipper moaned again.  
  
Once she’d left, he looked up. What was she playing at?! He’d just had the best day of his life, literally! And she had ruined it! The dumb junk around him grated on his nerves. How could she be so selfish?  
  
What even happened to her? She couldn’t invite anyone to their birthday party somehow? That was- So- juvenile! He’d been off being heroic, while she moped about her stupid… her stupid… uh, day.  
  
“Ugh,” Dipper groaned, squishing his face with his hands. This was hopeless. Mabel was just destined to be magnetically attached to him at all times. Or else, if they split apart, she’d be like Grunkle Stan. A hopeless… car salesman? Eh, he was trying to forget the details of all Stan’s scams.  
  
Either way, they would both be miserable. It wasn’t his fault their home town wasn’t as awesome as Gravity Falls!  
  
“Hey Dipper,” said Soos. “How’sit going? I thought it sounded like you were throwing up in here, so I came up with a bucket.”  
  
Dipper leaned back in his chair. “Thanks, Soos. It’s just that Mabel’s being… Mabel.”  
  
“So a totally awesome partner in kicking monster butt?”  
  
“No! A complete-“ Dipper paused. “Wait, isn’t she more of a sidekick?”  
  
Soos laughed. “That’s a good one, Dipper. You’re the Mystery Twins, not Mystery Dipper and his taller sister sidekick. Hehehe.”  
  
Dipper furrowed his brow. Mabel had been right by his side when he messed stuff up. And he’d been right next to her when she screwed up, too. Dwarves in a trench coat. The shapeshifter. But she was being so stupid!  
  
Soos frowned. “Did I accidentally say something deep?”  
  
“No, Soos… I’m just overthinking everything again.”  
  
“Oh, okay.” He grinned. “See you later.”  
  
Dipper crossed his arms. Mabel wasn’t the smart one. She was the punchy one. Like Stan. What the heck did he and Ford need with punchy twins? Punchy twins-  
Hmm. On the other hand, this line of thought was starting to sound… stupid. He’d gotten Ford stuck in the first place. He’d punched the security pod. If Mabel had been with them, she would’ve totally dominated the magnetic slidey poles. He would’ve been possessed forever by Bill without her help.  
  
And Mabel didn’t want Summer to ever end.  
  
And he didn’t want to leave Gravity Falls.  
  
Soos was right! They were partners, not just siblings!  
  
He had to tell Ford. He wasn’t taking the apprenticeship without Mabel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I watched Gravity Falls, I saw the fan art once in a while and expected a certain ending. When that ending didn't happen, I was weirdly disappointed. This fanfic was created to un-disappoint myself. Hopefully someone else will enjoy reading it too.


	3. Double Birthday

“Mabel!” Wendy called out. “Maaaaabelllllllll!”

Sheesh, how many places could there be for a kid in a neon pink sweater to hide? She walked down the path, turned a corner, and then caught a glimpse of a hand-stitched shooting star.

Wendy saw the sweater pulled up over her eyes, and approached.

“Sweatertown is _not_ accepting incoming calls right now,” Mabel grouched.

“It’s just me,” Wendy replied. “Dipper said you’re really upset.”

Mabel didn’t answer.

Wendy didn’t try to start a conversation. Instead, she sat down beside Mabel, and looked out at the trees.

After a minute, she said, “Dipper was really worried about you. You should’ve seen it.”

Silence.

“He thought Bill would’ve possessed you by now or something.”

Silence.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

Mabel was resting against her backpack, a coloring book lying face-down on her lap. Wendy grabbed it. Across the outline of a basket of kittens, Mabel had scribbled an ugly representation of Dipper being eaten by a shark.

Wendy snorted. Grabbing a colored pencil, she started to add on to the drawing. The pencil’s lead fell out, snapped by too much pressure. “Aw man,” Wendy breathed. “That was blood color.”

Mabel snatched the coloring book out of her hands and slammed it shut, growling a little.

“Okay.” Wendy sighed. “I’m gonna keep talking. I don’t care if you listen. I just know Dipper didn’t want you to be out here alone.”

She looked at Mabel for a while, then began. “High school… isn’t as awful as you’d think.”

She straightened her hat. “Sure, there’s lots of stuff I hate about it, but it’s also where I met all my friends. It’s cool to be in high school. And there’s so many clubs. Friendship bracelet club… drama club… dance club… film club… knitting club… the school newspaper… you love that kind of stuff.”

“All the bad stuff is in my head right now, but girl, you were in middle school. That’s _worse_. In high school, you’ve got fewer classes, weirder teachers, cooler friends… and senior prank.”

Wendy talked for a little while. When she ran out of stuff to say, she just gave Mabel a sideways hug.

Mabel hugged her back.

They didn’t say anything for another few minutes.

Then, Mabel burst out, “I _haaate_ him!”

She pushed away from Wendy, crossing her arms vehemently. “He’s so mmmhfh and I just-“

Wendy pulled the sweater down. Mabel’s face looked sweaty and red. “-can’t believe grunkle Stan-“

“Hold up, what’s Stan have to do with this?”

Mabel huffed dramatically. “He brooouught his broooother baaaaaack and Ford isn’t even helping! He’s just tearing us apart. He made Dipper into his own little…” she wiggled her fingers in the air “… _gremlin_ or something, and now I’m-“ she sniffed loudly “-NEVER going to see him-“

Her lip trembled and suddenly her face was buried in Wendy’s shirt. They hugged tightly, and Wendy patted her on the back. “That sucks.”

“Worst day of my _life_ ,” Mabel mumbled. “I’m gonna throw _up_.”

Wendy slid a sheet of paper out from between coloring book pages. It looked like a birthday party invitation. “Hey, can I come?”

Mabel looked up at her. She didn’t smile, not for a second, but she did look a little less despondent. “Yes,” she croaked.

“Sweet. You want any help party planning?”

“YES,” Mabel squeaked. Then she looked depressed again. “I should just cancel the party.”

“Why?”

“None of my best friends can come.”

Wendy stood up. “Why don’t you just have the party earlier?”

“Earlier?”

“Yeah! Friends party now, and family party later! It’ll be a double party.”

“A… double… party?” Mabel’s eyes were starting to look sparkly again. “Wendy. That’s the bestest idea you’ve ever had in the whole entire _world_!” She leapt to her feet.

Then she sagged. “Dipper,” she said in the same tone of voice she spoke about Pacifica.

Wendy punched her lightly in the arm. “Come on, I’ll be super mad at him with you, if you come back to the shack with me.”

Mabel considered. “Wendy? I kind of want to be alone right now.”

Wendy shrugged. “See you later. And don’t get your eyeballs shriveled up by the creepy triangle dude.”

Mabel smiled a little. It was a pity smile, but still.

Wendy headed back towards the shack.

~   
  
“Dipper! Just the guy I was looking for.” Grunkle Ford stepped into the gift shop.

“Grunkle Ford,” Dipper said, perking up from the gift shop front desk. “Me too! I had a fight with Mabel, and then I realized-“

“Hey,” Ford said, putting a hand on Dipper’s shoulder. “Don’t make my mistake.”

“I’m not!” Dipper said. “I’m not leaving Mabel behind!”

“What?” Ford snorted. “Didn’t you hear me right? _Don’t_ make my mistake.”

“No, I’m not going back home either! Mabel can stay here with us!”

There was a stunned silence.

“Uh, Dipper?” Ford squatted down to be at his eye-level. He scratched the back of his head. “You know how much I wish I could’ve brought Stan with me to my dream college? But it doesn’t work like that. You’ve gotta do your own thing. Mabel will just drag you down. She’s not like you and me.”

Dipper’s smile slipped off his face. He paused, then grew it back, more determined. “You don’t know Mabel like I do. Trust me, we can trust her with stuff. She’s saved my life. She defeated Bill after he _possessed_ me!”

“Woah,” Ford held up a hand. “ _Possessed_ you?”

“Uh… long story,” Dipper said quickly. “The point is, you’ve gotta accept her as an apprentice too!”

Ford sighed. “No. She’s gotta have a normal life. Don’t you want that for her?”

“… _I_ don’t want a normal life, Grunkle Ford.”

Ford stood up, shaking his head. “There’s only room for one apprentice in this house.”

Dipper looked down at the snow globes, brow furrowed. After a moment, he looked back up at Ford. “All I’m asking is for you to try it out. If it doesn’t work out, then fine. But I swear you won’t regret it.”

Ford folded his arms. “Let’s talk about it later. We’ve got a mission to finish, first.”

Dipper stood up. “Right. But Grunkle Ford? It’s two apprentices, or none. Like you said, I’m not making your mistake. Just look at Grunkle Stan!”

“Eh?” Stan narrowed his eyes at them as he entered the room. “Look at what?”

“You and Ford hate each other! I don’t want it to be like that between me and Mabel.”

“Oh.” Stan laughed drily. “What are you talking about? If you guys stopped loving each other, it would be… whatchamacallit…”

“Weirdmageddon,” Ford supplied.

“Yeah, that thing.” Stan smirked at him. “Waaait a second… Stanford…”

“Hey, I’m just giving him an opportunity.”

“I knew it! You’re trying to split them up! Now this. _This_ is weirdmageddon right here.” Stan pointed at him so quickly he almost poked him in the eye. “Look at yourself! You almost didn’t tell Dipper anything either! And now you’re two peas in a pod.”

Stan knelt down and looked Dipper in the eyes. “Look kid. If you leave Mabel, you’ll end up just like my brother here. Alone. Stupid. And stuck in a portal for ten years. Take it from me.”

“And you. I’d kick you out if I could,” he growled, this time actually poking Ford in the chest. “You ungrateful lunatic.”

Ford rolled his eyes. “Come on, Dipper. We’ve got heroic stuff to do.”

Dipper laughed sheepishly, throwing a half-heartedly apologetic look at Grunkle Stan. “Yeeah… heroic stuff.”

He and Ford went down into the basement, backpack over one shoulder.

“I’m sorry about my brother,” Ford grumbled. “He’s been like that his whole life.”

“You don’t need to apologize for him,” said Dipper. “He’s just trying to protect us, probably.”

“Hmph. I’ve never seen him care about another person before in his life.”

Dipper didn’t know how to respond to that. So they walked to the bottom of the stairs in silence.

“So Mabel didn’t take it well,” Ford said at last.

“No…” Dipper sighed.

“I just don’t want you to feel pressured to limit yourself for her.”

Dipper shrugged. “I really want to help you with this stuff. But Mabel’s great at fighting monsters too. She’s-“

“Dipper, it’s not about how useful she’ll be! It’s about what _she_ wants. I’m sure she’s not interested in writing in journals, or learning about ogre slime. She’s not scientific. And I can’t teach her whatever she _is_ interested in. Besides. Do you really think she can keep a secret?”

Dipper paused. “Well…”

“There you go, then. Now, we need to focus on the mission. Just hand me the rift, and get ready to make history.”

Dipper pulled out the orb, and Ford applied the glue. It shimmered for a moment.

Dipper and Ford grinned at each other and high-fived.

“History made!” Dipper cheered.

“Not yet!” Ford retorted with a smile of his own. “We need to seal it in a place Bill can never ever find.”

“…in here?”

“Not permanently. I’m still trying to think of where the safest place would be. But for now, yes. I’ve got an inconspicuous-looking box we can lock it in that should do the trick. A box no one in the house would ever touch except us. A…. Dungeons, Dungeons, and more Dungeons box.”

Dipper frowned. “Is that really secure?”

“Dipper,” Ford said seriously. “The best hiding spot is the one where no one thinks to look. Especially if we create a decoy.”

“A decoy?”

“See that piece of paper? It has a fake clue pointing to the briefcase with a combination lock on it. It’s got a snow globe from the gift shop in it. And also an alarm built in.”

They stuck the orb in the DnDnD box. Safe and sound, for now.


	4. Not Good Enough

When Mabel walked inside, she told herself she wouldn’t look or speak to Dipper for the rest of the night. It was just getting dark outside, and the only reason she wasn’t still under that tree was because she didn’t want to be in the forest at night.

 

“Hey Mabel,” Wendy said when she walked in. “I’m about to close up the gift shop.”

 

She could hear angry voices coming from the basement, and sighed. The Grunkles were shouting at each other again.

 

Grunkle Stan walked into the room. “Hi Mabel.”

 

Mabel gave him a puzzled look. “Where’s Dipper?”

 

“Downstairs. I was trying to take a nap, so I’m looking for ear plugs.”

 

“But why?” Mabel said, staring at the vending machine. “Why are they arguing?”

 

A spark of hope illuminated her soul. This was it. Dipper had come to his senses. Everything was going to be fine. Even if Grunkle Ford was being grunkly about it.

 

Mabel punched in the vending machine code and ran down to the basement, daring to smile.

 

“-dangerous!”

 

“Why are we still shouting?!”

 

“Because _you’re_ still shouting!”

 

“Okay then! …Mabel?”

 

Dipper and Ford were standing in the middle of the room, fingers pointing at each-other.

 

“What are you guys _doing_?” Mabel asked.

 

“You shouldn’t be down here!” Ford burst out. “Go back upstairs!”

 

“Don’t go,” Dipper countered. “I was just saying _you_ should be his apprentice too!”

 

Mabel’s jaw dropped. Then she giggled. “That’s _nerd_ stuff, brother.”

 

At the same time, she couldn’t help but picture what it would be like. Adventure. Mayhem. Seeing her friends all the time…

Dipper looked crestfallen. “But if you stay here, we could be together.”

 

“Well… I have saved your butt before.”

 

“Exactly!” Dipper said, turning back to Ford. “Old Man McGucket can teach her or something! We could hire tutors! She doesn’t have to be doing science down here if she-“

 

Mabel put a hand on his shoulder. “Dipper, thank you. But I was just kidding about the nerd stuff. I totally want to know about the crazy monsters here. And whatever that is…” she pointed at a briefcase, “and that, and that, and that, and-“

 

“Enough,” Ford interjected. “Mabel. You’re a sweet girl, but you should be going to real school.”

 

Mabel felt all the day’s frustration flaring up again. “So should Dipper!”

 

“Just one mission, Grunkle Ford! One mission, and you’ll trust her like I do,” said Dipper.

 

“One mission?” Mabel asked, using her biggest, sparkly eyes. “Onnnnneee Missionnnnnn???”

 

Ford crossed his arms. “No. It’s too dangerous.”

 

Mabel and Dipper exchanged a look, although neither of them really knew what it meant.

 

“Why?” Mabel asked.

 

Ford shook his head. “You really want me to be honest? You’re not up for it, kid. You just don’t have the stuff. You’d just get in the way.”

 

Rage swelled in her.

 

“Come on Mabel,” Dipper said at last. “I don’t want to be your apprentice anymore, Grunkle Ford. Not now, and not during the school year. Maybe Grunkle Stan was right.”

 

Ford didn’t respond. Not even as they left the lab, and closed the vending machine door behind them.

 

When they got to the top, Mabel put her arm around Dipper. “Is this the worst day of your life too, now?”

 

Dipper looked at her with determination. “Nope. We’re going to go monster-hunting ourselves.”

 

Mabel nodded tightly with her most serious face on. “Monster hunting.”


	5. The Best Adventurer

That night, Mabel had a nightmare. She was trapped inside of a bright pink orb hovering near the bridge where they fought Gideon, and she couldn’t escape. Teddy bears and singing palm trees chased her with axes, until she was cornered. She pulled out acidic silly string, and when she sprayed them with it, they grew eyes. Bill’s eye, on all of them. She screamed, and he laughed maniacally. They chased her off of a cliff, and as she plummeted towards the water, she saw her reflection – she had Bill’s eye instead of a face as well-

 

Mabel woke up with a jolt, her heart racing. _Stupid Butt Head Bill Cipher._ He was the whole problem in this place! The threat of universe-death, the reason why Dipper and Ford had been all like “it’s too dangerousss, we have sooo many secretsss” and he was just overall and in general a huge bully. If they could get rid of him, every other problem would be solved in an instant.

 

She wanted to be angry, but she was still terrified from the dream. Drat, still dark outside too.

 

Mabel took out her coloring book and flipped to a blank page in the back of the book. She drew Bill’s dorito body, with his stupid little stick legs and top hat. Then she crossed him out. The X got so heated, her pencil broke through the page. Why didn’t that make her feel any better?

 

For a minute, Mabel sat awake in bed, listening to the distant sounds of night. Grunkle Ford was making things way more hard. And Grunkle Stan had brought him here. Why, if they hated each other? Why, if Ford was just going to kick everyone out of his house so he could be a hermit?

 

Mabel scowled at the puppy she was coloring in absently. _Ford._ He’d said she was basically a stupid little girl. If Dipper could save his dumb life, well, then why couldn’t she?????

 

She’d show him. She’d prove she was good enough to be his apprentice until he was begging her to help! No, no, she’d prove she was _better_ at being “the author” or whatever than even _he_ was!

 

She looked over at the journal tucked beneath Dipper’s bed. Hehe. He was snoring, but in an adorable way. Like a kitten.

 

_Focus, Mabel!_ She told herself. _What will make you the bestest adventurer there ever was? Better than Ford, or Dipper, or anyone? What have none of them been able to do yet, that you_ can _?_

 

She felt the indents left by the big, scribbled X on the back of her coloring book, and flipped to that page. _Bill Cipher_. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone. Defeat him _and_ prove she was awesome.

 

She glanced over at Dipper to make sure he was still sleeping, and then turned to the other blank page in the back of her coloring book. Time to make a plan.

 

_Bill Cipher was going doooown._


	6. Grunkles

Ford worked alone, in complete silence.

 

He had worked like this for _years_.

 

Everything was fine.

 

He glanced at a picture frame containing Dipper and Mabel’s faces, and knocked it face-down. Not that he was upset or anything. This was better anyway. Dipper would be safer. Mabel would be safer. If it weren’t for Dipper, he would have been in and out of the alien place without any trouble. Kids only slowed him down.

 

Ford tried to run his index finger along the page as he read, but his hand was shaking too much. He shoved it in his pocket, and kept reading. These notes were from what felt like ages ago. He might as well have been a totally different person back then.

 

Aha, there was what he was looking for! Ford turned around in his chair to share the news, then abruptly turned back to his desk.

 

He grabbed pen and paper, jotting down the location of the original cave carvings where he’d summoned Bill Cipher. Before he did anything else, he wanted to destroy that wall. If nothing else, it would help him sleep soundly at night, knowing that no one else would stumble upon the worst mistake of their entire life. With the rift stabilized, all he had left to do during the Summer was find the perfect hiding spot for it. And then banish Bill Cipher, of course. And destroy the portal before it caused any more damage.

 

“Nngh,” Ford groaned. So much to do. And so many distractions! Everyone in the house was mad at him, and the only way to appease them was to let them tag along as dead weight on highly dangerous and important missions. Or to apologize for something that was the other brother’s fault. He’d have to go into town and buy some pain killers later that day, or this headache would never end.

 

Ford looked around at the Bill-Cipher covered walls. Repainting his study. Another very important thing for the to-do list.

~

 

“Look who decided to show his face,” Stan commented.

 

Ford glowered at him, slamming the vending machine door behind himself. Stan glared back, tearing open a bag of chips.

 

When he came back from the store, Ford’s face was even more sour.

 

“Why the long face, brother?” Stan jeered. He was sitting at the front desk, counting the day’s earnings. “You look like someone who just broke the hearts of several children. Oh, wait…”

 

Ford slammed one hand onto the desk. “Everyone thought I was _you_.”

 

“Really?” Stan frowned. “Even without the fez?”

 

Ford sighed, really looking at the gift shop for the first time. “Hey, what _is_ this?” He walked up to a fish tail hot-glued to two monkey heads. “You vandalized my-“

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Stan interrupted. “Not like you were using it.”

 

Ford swept the room with his eyes, looking at the other hot-glue monstrosities. Then he picked up the so-called “two-headed mer-monkey demon” and snapped the tail off.

 

“Hey!!” Stan roared, leaping to his feet.

 

Ford saw him running, and ran towards a fish-headed flesh-eating wombat, snapping off the head. Stan grabbed his arms, spinning him around so they faced each other. “That’s how I make my living, if you hadn’t noticed?!”

 

Ford reunited the fish head and fish tail, narrowing his eyes at Stan. “This fish is _real_. You’ve made nothing but _lies_!”

 

Stan’s grip grew tighter. “Except for that one time I _fixed the portal and saved your life_!”

 

“F--- you,” Ford growled.

 

“There are kids in this house, Stanford.”

 

“Just let go of me.”

 

“I’d love to, but you’re too busy vandalizing my property.”

 

“ _Your_ property?”

“Yeah, exactly, Glad you’re finally catching on.”

 

Ford took a deep breath. “Very well. I promise not to fix your ugly tourist trap creations.”

 

Stan let go of him. Then he held out his hands. “Gimme the fish.”

 

Ford scowled. “What? No. Why would you want this anymore?”

 

“For my _ugly tourist trap decorations_!” Stan exclaimed, sounding exasperated.

 

“Fine,” Ford spat, shoving the fish halves into his hands.

 

Right before he walked out of the gift shop, Ford paused in the doorway. “You know, it’s funny how you hated my life’s work for so long, and yet look at you now. Making your living out of my life’s ruins. Living in my house. Taking my name… you’re nothing but a rip-off con-artist version of me-“

 

Before he knew what had hit him, he was being tackled to the ground. His glasses shattered as a fist slammed against the back of his head. He saw stars.

 

“Should’ve-“ _ow_ “-left you-“ _ow_ “-in that-“ _ow_ “-portal!” Ford struggled to move anything, anywhere, but he was pinned. He could taste blood in his mouth. He couldn’t’ speak. All he could do was listen to Stan as he beat him to a pulp.

 

“Can’t- believe- I- risked- everything- for- _YOU_! I- dropped- _everything_ \- when- you- wanted- me- back! But no! You had to hate me for an _accident_ all the way back in _high school_!” _Thump, thump, thump._

 

“You listen _closely_ , Stanford f---ing Pines.” His voice was so crazy, it made Ford shudder. “If you so much as open your mouth near me, I’ll burn your lab to the ground. I’ll _personally_ light each and every page of your journals on fire. And then I’ll shove you back into that portal and…”

 

His voice cracked.

 

“And Dipper and Mabel will help me do it.” He could hear the tears welling up in Stan’s eyes.

 

Forcing the words through his sore, sore body, Ford said, “Are… you… done… yet?”

 

Stan flipped him over onto his back, and suddenly they were staring at each other. Ford black and blue, and Stan’s face filling with tears. “I’ll _never_ be done,” Stan whispered. “Until you apologize.”

 

_Ding-a-ling!_ The gift shop door swung open. Some tourists stepped inside. One of them screamed. Another one pulled out their camera. “Relax Susan, that’s just one of the exhibits!”

 

Stan leapt to his feet, smoothed down his hair, and popped his fez back on. “Welcome to the mystery shack! I was just… uh, fighting my evil clone here.”

 

The tourists didn’t know how to respond. On closer examination, they realized Ford was _very_ hurt.

 

“Is he real?” one of them ventured.

 

“Of course he is! Just like that baby seal crossed with a house cat over there!”

 

The tourists ran over to look at the creature, eager for an excuse to ignore Ford. “Oooh!” “Wow!”

 

Ford pried himself off the floor and staggered into the nearest chair, behind the front desk. Stan glanced over his shoulder, giving him a pointed look, before quickly turning back to the tourists.

 

“I’ll bet you’ve never heard about the time this thing almost murdered the Queen of England!” He dashed over to a small book shelf and handed them a book so thin, it was almost a pamphlet. “That’ll be five bucks!”

 

They flipped through the pages, and he guided them around the room to see the creatures corresponding to their chapters in the book. After a few minutes, they approached Ford, and handed him five dollars. “We’d like to buy the book.”

 

Stan intercepted Ford from taking the money, flashing the tourists a smile as he grabbed the bill, popped it in the cashier box, and gave them a bag to carry it in. “Come back next time and I’ll show you the man who was eaten by a tree!”

 

They left the gift shop.

 

Ford wiped some of the blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth off on his sleeve. “You wrote that?”

 

“Eh?” Stan frowned at him defensively.

 

He gestured to the book shelf corner. “A story for all your creatures?”

 

“Oh, that.” Stan grunted. “Yeah. So what?”

 

Ford shrugged, then yelped with pain from the movement.

 

“Uh,” Stan mumbled, “you got a bed down there?”

“I sleep in my chair,” Ford mumbled back.

 

Stan paused, for once not glowering in Ford’s direction. Then he walked out of the room.

 

A few minutes later, he walked back in with Soos, who was holding an air mattress.

 

“Woah, are you okay?” Soos asked upon seeing Ford’s bruises.

 

“Nope,” Ford replied. He looked at the bed skeptically. “What’s that for?”

 

“Sleeping,” Stan replied, looking anywhere except at Ford’s face.

 

“Do you think he has a concussion?” Soos asked.

 

“No,” Ford said, “I’m fi- fine.” He gasped in pain halfway through the word.

 

“Well… okay.” Soos didn’t look convinced. “But if you get any worse, you can come to my Abuelita’s place. She makes really good soup.”

 

Ford moaned, gingerly rubbing one eye.

 

“Come on Soos, don’t leave him there! People could walk in any second! It would be bad for business.”

 

“Oh, okay. Where are we taking him?”

 

Ford managed to form the words, “downstairs, of course.”

 

“What?” Stan said incredulously, “and make me carry down food to you every day? You’d never get back up the stairs.”

 

Ford glowered at him for a split second, but his face hurt too much to hold it for long. “Then where… do you suggest…?”

 

Stan looked away. “Hmm. Well. What about the TV room? You could catch up on a decade of daytime television.”

 

“I’d rather die.”

 

Stan opened his mouth, looking angry, then closed it again. He took a deep breath. “Okay.”

 

Soos looked back and forth at them. “Abuelita’s?”

 

“No,” the brothers said in unison. Then they stared at each other.

 

The ghost of a smile flickered across their faces. That hadn’t happened in so, so many years.

 

At last, Stan said, “I give up! Stanford, you can just take my bed. I’ll sleep on the air mattress in the TV room.” After a brief pause, he added, “don’t thank me all at once.”

 

Ford sat quietly, like he wasn’t sure which expression to wear on his face. Soos helped him over one shoulder and led him to the bedroom, helping him onto the bed.

 

Ford looked around the room, frowning. “It’s almost the same as how I left it.”

 

Stan didn’t follow them into the bedroom. Soos insisted on tucking him in, and asked him if he wanted anything.

 

“Bring me my pain killers. I left them in the gift shop. And an ice pack.”

 

“Yes sir!” Soos said, saluting him and scurrying out of the room.

 

Ford felt the material of the blanket between his fingers. He’d bought this way back when he was in undergrad school. He couldn’t imagine why Stan would hold onto it. For Ford, it had sentimental value. But for Stan? It was just an old worn-out blanket that reminded him of his better twin.

 

He had to admit, lying here in the dark, that he was impressed. Even with the life he’d led… stereotypical football player kid… con man… dirt poor… he’d still managed to get the portal up and running. He must have followed the instructions in Ford’s journal. But Stan wasn’t much of a reader. Why would he have picked it up?

 

Now that he thought about it, there were plenty of questions he had for Stan. He just couldn’t focus right now, with the pain throbbing all over his body. They had never beaten each other up before. And now that they were old men? Stan was an idiot for being so impulsive. He probably strained something. There was also the damage he’d done to Ford. Why did their conversations always end like this nowadays?

 

He’d tried to avoid it. He’d stayed in the basement and saved the world from Stan’s foolishness, by sealing the rift in spacetime. He’d been accomplishing so much after so long…

And now what? Stan had taken _that_ away from him too. He couldn’t hold a pencil now, and probably wouldn’t for several days. The lost time would be enormous!

 

He was also afraid of the nightmares. Sleeping off the pain would be inevitable. Just because his mind was sealed to Bill Cipher, didn’t mean he couldn’t have dreams about the guy. Horrific ones, where he possessed Ford and then strangled Stan to death. Ones where he set the shack on fire and it spread into a wildfire. Ones where everything was normal, except everyone had Bill’s face. Flashbacks to the night he summoned Bill. He would try to stop himself, but every time, he ended up saying the incantation. Every f---ing time. And then Bill Cipher would swallow him whole.

 

Ford had almost drifted off to sleep when Soos came back in. He gave Ford the painkillers, then slipped back out of the room.


	7. Questions and Answers

Mabel punched in the code to the vending machine. It slid open, and as she walked down the stairs, it grew darker and darker until she could only faintly see the moonlight streaming in through the open doorway.

 

Flicking on the light switch, she looked around the room. She almost expected Grunkle Ford to be lurking down here, even though she _knew_ he was sleeping in Stan’s room tonight.

 

Dipper had been hanging out with her, but he didn’t mention Ford’s journal a single time. It was like he didn’t want to have anything to do with monster hunting at _all_ anymore. Or that he didn’t want to talk about it with her. That he thought she couldn’t handle it.

 

 _I can handle the truth!_ Mabel thought to herself, rummaging through drawers until she found the other two journals. _There._ Now she could read all about Bill Cipher, and figure out his weaknesses.

 

She opened the first journal, and flipped through the pages. “Woah, there’s a lot of pages with Bill on them.”

 

She stopped where his drawing covered most of the page. There was some kind of circle design around him. Huh. She skimmed over the page. It read:

 

_I saw this painting on the wall in the forest. The people who drew it believe it to be a prophecy about how to defeat Bill Cipher. I don’t believe it, but if they’re right, then this needs to be drawn on the floor. Then, a person for each symbol must stand on their respective symbol, with everyone holding hands. Bill will be summoned to the center of the circle, and then banished, unless someone recites the summoning incantation again – which is what I so foolishly did. The symbols need not be literal. They can simply represent the personality of the person. For example, the glasses are for a scholar, and the ice bag is for someone who stays cool in the face of danger._

 

Mabel looked up from the journal, hearing a creak in the floorboards upstairs. After a pause, she figured it must have been her imagination. She looked back at the sketch. This was it! Ford might not believe in it, but _she_ did! She grabbed a pencil and paper, and traced the drawing from the book. Five seconds on her own, and she was already closer to defeating that evil triangle!

 

Shutting the book and putting it back in its drawer, Mabel ran upstairs. She had a good feeling about this.

 

~

 

“Grunkle Stan… Dipper… Grunkle Ford…” Mabel drew arrows pointing at each section of the drawing. Some of them were obvious. “…Gideon…” she couldn’t figure out who could represent the llama. And couldn’t Grunkle Ford be the glasses instead of the hand? But he had to be the hand. She circled the ones she couldn’t guess, and drew them individually on some blank flashcards: the glasses, the ice bag, the question mark, the broken heart, the llama, and the shooting star.

 

“What are you drawing?” Dipper asked.

 

“Aah! Nothing!” Mabel flipped the paper over and sat on it. “It’s…. for your birthday!”

 

“Oh right, I need to get you a present too. Any requests?”

 

“Yarn!”

 

Dipper slid a box out from beneath her bed. “You have _tons_ of yarn already.”

 

Mabel shoved it back under the bed. “But I need mooooore!” I don’t have any sparkly yarn!”

 

“What a tragedy,” Dipper joked.

 

“Listen, Dipper,” Mabel said, thinking fast. “Why don’t you go get me a present today, and I’ll work on yours?”

 

“Sure.” Dipper didn’t look suspicious at all. Phew. “Maybe Grunkle Stan will give us a paycheck from working in the shop.”

 

“NO,” Grunkle Stan yelled out from somewhere in the house.

 

“Let’s just use some of the money our parents gave us!” Mabel practically dragged Dipper out the door. “Come on, shopping time! No peeking at each other!”

 

“Hey, we can walk together until we get to the town!” Dipper protested.

 

“Nope, I need some homemade ingredients for mine!” Mabel ran into the woods, flashcards tucked in her back pocket. After a minute of watching Dipper walk away, she came back out and went into the Mystery Shack gift shop.

 

“Wendy, do you know what any of these symbols mean?” Mabel spread out the flashcards on the gift shop counter.

 

Wendy looked up from her phone. “Yeah, that one’s a question mark.”

 

Mabel face palmed. “I’m talking about _who_ they could represent!”

 

“Is it like one of your mystery things?”

 

Mabel glanced back and forth, then leaned in. “Yeah, it’s a secret mission. But you can’t tell anyone! Not even Dipper! It’s…. for his…. Birthday!”

 

“Sweet,” Wendy said. “I have no clue.” She paused. “Wait, isn’t that the picture on Robbie’s jacket?” She pointed at the broken heart.

 

Mabel leapt into a hug. “Robbie! I have no idea who that is!”

 

Wendy showed her a picture of her friends on her phone, and zoomed in on Robbie’s face. “That’s him.”

 

“Ok thanks, bye!” Mabel gathered up the flashcards and ran for town. This was a problem for her _besties._

 

~

 

Grenda and Candy didn’t have a clue.

 

“Maybe that goat could be the llama,” Candy suggested.

 

“But it has to be a person!” Mabel replied.

 

“Maybe if one of us wears glasses we could be the glasses person,” said Grenda.

 

“Hmm… I’ll jot that down,” Mabel said.

 

“Where did you see these symbols anyway, Mabel?” asked Grenda.

 

“Oh, that’s not important.” Mabel winked. “Are you coming to the party tomorrow?”

 

“Definitely!” said Grenda and Candy in unison.

 

Mabel grinned. Summer was back to being the way it was supposed to be.

 

Candy took off her glasses to polish them. “These are always getting dirty.”

 

Mabel stared at her.

 

“What?” Candy asked.

 

“Your _glasses._ You’re the glasses person!”

 

“Me?”  


“Yes!!!” Mabel leapt to her feet. “Thanks guys, but I gotta run!”

 

~

 

Back at the mystery shack, Mabel decided to ask Soos next. He was standing in the back with a hose, watering some grass.

 

“Hey Mabel!”

 

“Hi Soos! Do you know what these symbols could mean?” She held up all the flashcards except for the ones for Robbie and Candy.

 

Soos narrowed his eyes, turning off the hose. “Is this some kind of quiz? Oh, are they all patterns on your sweaters?”

 

Mabel looked at the symbols, gasping. “I’m wearing the shooting star sweater _right now_!”

 

Then she looked back at Soos. “And you’re wearing a question mark shirt!!”

 

Soos looked down at himself. “No way dude! It’s like you knew what I’d be wearing today.”

 

Mabel put the question mark and shooting star flash cards in her back pocket. Now all that was left were the ice bag and llama.

 

Hmm. Who had the personality of a llama? And who was cool in the face of danger? She didn’t even know what the personality of a llama _was._ Fluffy? Hungry?

 

Maybe she could just knit a sweater for the last two.

 

Mabel put all the flashcards in her pocket. “Thanks Soos! Bye!”

 

Now for the hard part. Getting everyone together.


	8. Plans

Bill drifted in circles around Dipper. Since the kid wasn’t asleep, he couldn’t see Bill… but _he_ could see the _kid_. Out of all the Pines, this one was the second most dangerous. This meant he could potentially ruin everything, but at the same time he wasn’t smart enough to hide inside the protective field of the Mystery Shack 24/7.  
  


_What’s your weakness, pine tree? What’s your biggest dream, and your worst nightmare?_ If only he could torment them in their sleep. If Mabel was smarter, he could manipulate her into orchestrating a sleep-over at someone else’s house, or a vacation, or _some_ thing. But alas, all he had to work with was the idiot currently buying yarn for his sister’s birthday.  
  


Birthdays were idiotic in the first place. For mortal creatures, it was a signifier of how close you were to death. And other people bought gifts for you! Imagine a holiday in the _nightmare realm_ where you were obligated to buy gifts for people for the sole reason that they _existed_! Ha! _Just buy gifts for yourself,_ he wanted to tell them. But not really. If he started telling humans all the things they were doing wrong, his dimension would collapse before he was finished!  
  


It was much simpler to fix up their world with a wave of his fingers, once he gained a physical form. But the best part wouldn’t even be that! It would be the looks on their puny little faces!  
  


_Gah, you’ve spent too long around humans._ _You’re starting to actually care about how hilarious they look when they’re in pain._ Way back before he cared about the physical realm, he would tell humans his real name, and not even giggle when they disintegrated into dust. It was like watching paint dry. Basic stuff, for a demon.  
  


_Aw, whatever. It’ll make destroying this town that much more fun._   
  


He glanced at Mabel, getting bored of trailing behind Dipper. She was already back inside the Mystery Shack’s protective circle. Probably inhaling glitter or something, the imbecile.  
  


Hmm. _Imbecile._ Maybe he could use her after all.  
  


Hahahahaha, _yes!_ He rubbed his hands together for dramatic flair. He really _could_ use her. Bill popped over to Grenda’s house. It was so simple. He just had to wait until she fell asleep.


	9. Awkward Sibling Hug

Stan walked into the bedroom. The door swung open with a loud creak.

 

Ford squinted at him, rubbing his temples. “What do you want?”

 

Stan ignored him, stepping around junk on the floor until he reached the closet.

 

Ford sat up. Stan looked at him sharply. “Looks like you’re feelin’ better.”

 

Ford avoided his eyes. “There’s something… I need to tell you.”

 

Stan stopped beside the bed, arms folded defensively. “What?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Eh? For what?”

 

Ford struggled to find the words. He’d been trying to piece them together in his head ever since he’d been stuck in this bed. “For letting me sleep in here, for one thing.”

 

He expected Stan to walk away, but he didn’t. He stood still, looking at Ford stoically.

 

It gave Ford the time to gather the rest of his thoughts. “And for… look. I know I’ve been hard on you. But _I_ made the portal. I just don’t understand why you’d bother bringing me back. So… thank you, Stanley.”

 

Stan didn’t move for a moment. Then he shrugged. “Hey, what are brothers for.”

 

Ford put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.”

 

Stan pulled away. “You okay there? Was there something in Soos’s soup?”

 

Ford laughed the saddest laugh he’d ever heard. “I was selfish, Stan.”

 

“Yeah? Well I was stupid.”

 

Ford looked at him incredulously. “I trusted a _demon_.”

 

“I punched you out of this dimension!”

 

Ford laughed. “I saw you for the first time in decades, and the first thing I did was bring you to the most dangerous room in the house. And then I pissed you off.”

 

Stan grew serious. “I thought we’d be friends again. But you always knew exactly what to say to piss me off.”

 

Ford sighed. “You know the moment I realized we were being stupid? When I was hurtling towards that portal. I didn’t care until the second I thought I might never see you again.” He stared absently at Stan’s hat.

 

“What is that look?” Stan asked him fiercely. “What, do you think I hated you for all those years? That I still hate you or something? Well lemme tell you _this_. I’ve missed you ever since you called out for help and vanished into that portal-thingy. It was my fault. I hated one of us, sure, but not _you_.”

 

Ford frowned like he didn’t believe it.

 

“Look, you think I _liked_ reading your stupid journals? I hate science stuff! All of this, the mystery shack, working in your lab late at night, pretending to be you… it was for _you_ , you knucklehead! I only hated you when you came back out of the portal like nothing had changed! Like… like I’d _inconvenienced_ you by saving your life.”

 

Ford slumped forward, resting his chin on his hand. Stan shoved his hand away, causing him to sit up straight again. “Hey,” Stan barked, “No feeling sorry for yourself! You said sorry, you said thank you, now we’re even!”

 

Ford smiled, getting out of bed. “Awkward sibling hug?”

 

Stan looked at him grouchily. Then he held out his arms for a hug.

 

“Pat, pat,” they said in unison.


	10. A Doomed Deal

“You have a visitor.”

 

Gideon turned his head. “ _Mabel_? Well fancy seein’ _you_ here.”

 

The prison guards stood awfully close to her. Everyone around here knew about his artwork. She _was_ the star of his paintings.

 

“Hi Gideon,” she said in a clearly false-cheerful voice. “I’m really sorry about this.”

 

He raised his chin, sending her all the spite he’d been storing up in the past weeks. “I know your type, Mabel Pines. You only came here ‘cause you _need_ somethin’ from me. It’ll take more than a howdy-do an’ a smile for me to fall for _your_ tricks again.”

 

Mabel shrugged. “Who knows? Mayyybe I just wanted to see your adorable widdle face!”

 

Gideon scowled. “Don’t you go makin’ fun of my adorable face, now. I already got plenty of followers. When I get out, you’ll wish you never walked into my life.”

 

“Ughh,” Mabel sighed. “Okay, here’s the truth. There’s a way to defeat Bill Cipher, and I need you for it to work.”

 

“Oh, well why didn’ you _say_ so, Mabel darlin’?” Gideon waved a hand. “That’s a big favor, ain’t it?”

 

“…what do you want?” Mabel said cautiously.

 

“Oh, you know. Freedom, revenge on your whole family…”

 

Mabel folded her arms. “Listen, Gideon. Bill Cipher’s going to destroy the _world_ unless you help out. What will be left to get power over or whatever, if you don’t have the world to rule?”

 

“World domination? Mabel, you shouldn’t have!” Gideon smiled. “I’ll cooperate with your lil’ world-savin’ expedition, if you cross your heart an’ promise that you’ll help me take over the world once it’s been rescued.”

 

Mabel scoffed. “You ruling the world? That would be the end of the world all over again! Come on, Gideon. There must be _something_ you want.”

 

“More than the entire world?” Gideon said with a chuckle. “As a matter of fact there _is_ something I can think of off the top of my head.”

 

Mabel felt her heart plummet into her stomach.

 

_“You.”_

 

Mabel wrinkled her nose and took a step back. “N-“

 

She hesitated. If this would save the world, what else could she do? She could always break the deal _after_ the world was saved. It wasn’t like he would want revenge on her even more than he already did, right?

 

“Okay,” Mabel finally replied. “I’ll be your… _girlfriend._ ”

 

Gideon laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed, until Mabel couldn’t stand to look at him anymore, and the guards escorted her out of the cell.


	11. Partners in Crime

Mabel had decided to tell Dipper. She wasn't so stupid that she'd attempt a prison break on her own, after all.

The only issue was getting him not to tell Grunkle Ford about it. Sure, they weren't on speaking terms _now_ , but Dipper wouldn't be able to ignore him for much longer. As she sat knitting him a sweater for his birthday, she wondered how they would talk everyone into coming. And _where_ would they put the drawing? In the middle of the town? Out in the woods? Where was the best place to banish a demon?

_No, wait!_ She was knitting the wrong sweater! This one had the tree symbol like his hat, but what if she made them _matching_ sweaters? Like.... one said "mystery" and one said "twins" and they had to stand next to each other for it to make sense?

Mabel grabbed some new needles and yarn.

Dipper walked into the room, carrying a big box.

Mabel froze.

Dipper noticed her, then stumbled, dropping the box. Dozens of balls of yarn came rolling out, each and every one of them a different color of the rainbow, with sparkles.

Mabel let out a squee. "We caught each other!"

"Aah!" Dipper ran to shove the yarn back into the box. Then he looked at Mabel. "What do you mean? Is that sweater for me?"

"Yeah," Mabel admitted. "...surprise."

They exchanged a look, and then started laughing.

Finally, Dipper said, "It's crazy downstairs. Grunkle Stan and Ford are talking to each other and _laughing_."

"Sarcastically?"

"No!"

Mabel's eyes grew big, and she slapped her hands on her cheeks. "Aaaaah, I knew they'd make up! What are they talking about?"

"I don't know," Dipper said with a shrug.

"Okay, but are you still mad at Grunkle Ford?"

Dipper sat down on his bed. "I guess so. He looks so happy."

Mabel beckoned him closer, and whispered in his ear. "I have a huuuge secret. You can't tell anyone, not even Grunkle Ford. Got it?"

"Uh... even if it's dangerous?"

"Oh, it _is_."

"Fine. I won't tell anyone."

"Pinky swear?"

Dipper linked his pinky finger with hers. "On my honor."

"We need to break Gideon out of jail."

Dipper lurched backwards. "What?!"

"Shhhh, wait, listen! There's a drawing that can defeat Bill Cipher." She rummaged around on her bedside table, finally grabbing the traced picture. "And the journal said one person needs to stand on each section." She pointed at the pentagram. " _That's_ Gideon's symbol. I already visited him, and he agreed to do it!"

Dipper clutched his head with one hand. "Mabel... that's just superstition. I saw that page too! Don't you think Grunkle Ford would be working on it if he thought it could work?"

"Grunkle Ford doesn't know what he's talking about!" Mabel whisper-shouted. "Look at the symbols! That's on your hat, that's on Robbie's hoodie, those are all sweaters I've knitted before! That's Grunkle Stan's hat! It can't be a coincidence!"

Dipper frowned, squinting at the paper. "You've figured out all the symbols."

"Darn right I did!"

"Why don't we just do it at the jail?"

"They only allow visitors one at a time, I checked! We've got to break him out of there! We can put him back in later or whatever, but this is gonna save our butts!"

"Hmm. You said Gideon agreed? Why would you trust him? He's the one who summoned Bill in the first place."

Mabel set the paper back down on the table. "Come on, Dipper. Just this once, for me? Prison break?"

Dipper shook his head. "No way! We'd just end up in prison with him!"

"Oh, Dipper, you silly. We'll need a _plan_ first."

He sighed. "You're going to do this, with or without me, aren't you."

Mabel winked.

"Fine. I'll help."


	12. Grenda

Grenda was having a nightmare. Run-of-the-mill stuff, honestly. Dead boyfriends, cockroaches eating your toes... all straight forward human dream stuff.

She was in the middle of running away from Mabel and Candy, who had morphed into horror movie characters, when a low hum brought her to consciousness within the dream. She looked around, startled. Mabel and Candy were frozen in mid-air. She kicked one of them in the shins experimentally, and they both vanished.

"Cool," Grenda commented.

She walked down a path that unfolded in front of her. Trees sprouted on either side, shooting up towards the sky as birds fluttered out of them, chattering wildly. Grenda glanced behind herself and saw a forest. Her boyfriend walked out from between some trees, wearing sunglasses.

"Hey Marius. This is just a dream, isn't it."

"That's right," Marius replied, holding her hand and walking beside her.

"I'm making this all up with my _mind_?"

Marius laughed. "Cool, right?"

"Yeah, man! We should do this every night."

Marius laughed again. "Ah, that would be nice, but I'm not real. I'm just the Marius in your imagination."

"Right," Grenda replied, staring at the scenery growing all around them.

They walked together, until the path became blocked by a statue of Gideon. His high-pitched laughter echoed through the forest.

"What's he doing here?" Grenda frowned. "This is _my_ dream."

Marius kissed the back of her hand, getting her attention. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Oh no! You're not Gideon Gleeful, are you?"

"What? No!" Marius wrinkled his nose. "No. I am a manifestation of your deepest dreams and desires. The truth is, you have powers you've never unlocked."

He took off his sunglasses. His eyes were yellow with black slits. Grenda backed away.

"Part of you can see into the future, Grenda. And you see Gideon putting Mabel in grave danger."

"Oh no, what can I do?" Grenda took a step forward, getting used to the unsettling glow in Marius's eyes.

"I've been in the shape of Marius so as not to scare you, but to tell you how to save her, I must reveal my true form. Can you handle it?"

"I can handle it!" Grenda insisted.

Marius vanished. In his place was a glowy yellow triangle.

Grenda raised an eyebrow. "You're a... triangle."

"That's me! Three angles. Each point represents a part of you. Your soul, your ego, and your... eh... love of Marius." His voice was echoey and higher-pitched than hers.

Grenda cracked her knuckles. "Tell me what I need to do to save Mabel."

"Woah, slow down there kid." He chuckled. "The plan is simple. Shake hands with me, and it'll be like your powers get woken up and brought into your consciousness. You can't control them, you'll need more practice, but when the time is right, I'll come to the forefront of your mind, and kablam! Mabel will be safe."

Grenda paused. "So Gideon's going to break out of prison or something?"

"Yeah, he's on his way out right now. You gotta hurry!" He held out a hand. It ignited with blue fire.

"Woah, cool." Grenda didn't even need to think about it. She shook his hand, and an instant later, she had woken up.

After a minute of staring at the ceiling, processing everything she'd just learned, she fell asleep.


	13. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

When Mabel woke up, she was positively _buzzing_ with excitement. "Dipper!" she whispered. "Are you done yet?!"

"No!" Dipper whispered back, flipping frantically through the pages of the journal. He was holding a black light up to the page. "I don't think it's going to work!"

Mabel flopped out of bed. "Whaat? But this is a matter of life and death, Dipper!"

He slammed the book shut. "I'm freaking out, Mabel! This is a high security _prison_ we're talking about, here! What if we get arrested? What if we're caught? What if we're stuck in prison with Gideon breathing down our necks for the rest of our lives?!"

Mabel patted him on the head. "Oh, calm down!"

"Calm... down?!" Dipper stared at her.

Mabel stared back at his terrified face, and deflated. "Dipper, I'm kinda scared too. But I'm _more_ scared of Bill Cipher!"

Dipper sighed, steeling himself. When he opened his eyes, he looked just as scared as before. But this time, there was a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth. "Mabel, let's get the gear. Whether this works or not... we can always use the back-up plan."

They ran to the emptied-out yarn box, grabbing the "gear" they'd created as part of the prison break-out plan. Some of the items had regular uses, but most of them were infused with magical properties, as per instructions in the book. They pulled ski-masks over their heads, put on fuzzy black gloves, and locked eyes with each other, nodding fiercely. "Stealth mode," they whispered in unison.

Then they crept out of the bedroom and downstairs.

Laughter was coming from a nearby room. Mabel almost dropped her gear in fright. They exchanged a glance, ready to rush back into the bedroom, until they heard a little of what was going on. "-these creatures didn't even have a _face_! And I said-"

Dipper took a step closer to the door.

" _Dipper,"_ Mabel whispered. "Come on!"

He turned away from the door and followed Mabel downstairs. So they really were on speaking terms again. Part of him was dying to walk into that room, talk them into letting him sit between them, and listen to the stories they were telling each other all night long. The other part of him remembered what Bill Cipher had done personally to wreck their family, on multiple occasions. And the plan he'd created, which couldn't be left hanging now that he was curious to see if it would actually work.

Once they arrived at the gift shop, Dipper took a key out from his pocket. Mabel fist-pumped. "You always think of everything, bro bro!"

Dipper unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Huh... that's weird," he muttered. "It feels heavier than usual."

They pushed on the door together. All of a sudden, the extra weight left it, and the door went swinging open. Mabel and Dipper crashed into the side of the wall.

"Oh no!" Dipper gasped. "They must have heard us!"

_"You guys?"_

He did a double-take. _"Wendy?"_

She rubbed her eyes. "Oh man, this is embarrassing... Robbie bet fifty bucks I couldn't sleep outside for a whole night. But what are _you_ guys doing out here? ...in ski masks?"

Mabel opened her mouth. "Um..."

"Nothing!" Dipper said, at the same time that Mabel said "we're breaking people out of high security prison!"

Wendy went quiet. Then she looked at all the gear. "That's hardcore, man," she whispered. "Forget the bet, I'm coming with you guys!"

Dipper took a step backwards. "What? You can't! It's too dangerous!"

"For a couple of twelve year olds, _yeah_. And hey, if you won't play fair, I'll walk in there right now and tell your uncles where you're going."

Mabel clutched at her face. "No no no, Wendy you have to come with us!"

Wendy paused. "Actually, I'm not sure if telling Stan would actually do anything. Would he try to stop you?"

"Grunkle Ford would," Dipper said grimly. "But we don't have much time. Let's go. And we're _thirteen_ now."

"Oh, right." Wendy ruffled Mabel's hair. "You're baby teens."

Dipper beckoned them around to the side of the mystery shack, pulling out another key.

"Duude, is that for the golf cart?"

Dipper grinned. "We're going for a little ride. Get in, everyone. Oh, and Wendy, could you disguise yourself a little? Just in case?"

Wendy nodded, rubbing her hands in some mud, then smearing it across her face.

"Eww, haha!" Mabel giggled. Then she rubbed her own face. "This ski mask is itchy."

Dipper started the engine, and they were off. It didn't go too fast, but it was better than walking. As he steered the golf cart, Dipper's mind wandered. He could partly hear Mabel shouting the plan at Wendy, and part of him was aware of the forest's creaking and groaning sounds, but the rest of him could think of nothing but Gideon. What would they even _do_ with him after they set him free? How could they force him to keep his promise to help them? Would Mabel's plan actually _work_?

After a while, they could see the prison in the distance. Dipper parked the golf cart and hid it behind some bushes. Then, he pulled out the plan. Mabel and Wendy huddled around him.

"Alright, so in five minutes, the guards switch. For around five seconds of that time, there's a blindspot that moves from here to here, if we hurry. Wendy, you're our getaway car driver. Mabel, you go in the front, and I'll go in the back. We'll move in the-"

"I know the formation," Mabel whispered.

"Okay, okay... anyway..." he reached up to adjust his hat, then realized he wasn't wearing it because this was a stealth mission. "Uh, once we reach the window, all we have to do is use the thing."

"The _thin_ _g,_ " Mabel repeated for dramatic effect. She patted her pocket. "I've got it right here."

"And Gideon-"

Wendy wrinkled her nose. "You're breaking out _Gideon?_ Has he brainwashed you or something?"

Dipper face palmed. "Look, we don't have time! I haven't even _looked_ at him since he was locked away, and I promise there's a realllly good reason for it, you've just gotta trust us."

Wendy frowned. "Psycho baby teens."

"Oh, Wendy," Mabel laughed.

Dipper glared at them. "Focus, here!"

He finished explaining the plan, and they all nodded. Only one minute left until they began.

A bush rustled. Mabel leapt backwards, opening her mouth to scream before thinking better of it and closing her mouth again. Grenda, of all people, emerged from the bushes."Hi, Mabel! Hi, Dipper! Hi, Red!"

They stared in shock. Grenda laughed. "Oh, right. The _stealth lenses_. I'm wearing these bad boys because I heard there's a secret mission going on." She pointed at the sunglasses on her face.

Mabel narrowed her eyes. "Who did you hear that from?"

Grenda took a step towards them. "I was looking for the bathroom, and I got lost. And then I heard you guys talking while I was in the bushes!"

Mabel squinted harder at her.

Then she leaned back. "uh. Sounds legitimate."

"Yeah," Dipper echoed. "No weirdness at all, here."

Grenda fell to her knees. "Guys, you gotta let me help you! A prison break sounds like so much fun!"

"Ok," Dipper frowned. "Um..." Only thirty seconds until their plan began. "Uh... you walk in the middle, between me and Mabel."

"Got it!" Grenda said with a thumbs-up.

He turned to Mabel, whispering, "Are you sure about this?"

Mabel looekd concerned. "Well, I don't want her to go down with us... but there's no time..."

DIpper held out his hands. "Everyone! Time to get going!"

He, Mabel, and Grenda each popped a piece of gum in their mouth that had been laced earlier with invisibility juice.

Right before they faded out of existence, he glanced behind himself at Grenda, with her silly sunglasses, and Mabel, who looked like she was going to throw up from nervousness. Grenda gave him a thumbs up, and he tentatively gave her one back. And then they were invisible. "Link hands," Dipper whispered. Grenda's hand grabbed his own, as well as Mabel's.

He led the way, darting through the fence (the invisibility juice was derived from the same kind of magic as ghosts, so they weren't completely physical anymore). Then, he scurried along the edge of the wall, following the movements of a guard walking to his new station. As the guards switched off, he spun around one of them, then followed them towards the prison entrance.

"There's been trouble tonight," remarked one of the guards as he walked by another. "Gleeful's up to something, I can feel it."

The other guard nodded gruffly. "Didn't spit at me as I walked by, tonight."

"Ugh, I hate that crooked little smile. It's almost worse than the accusatory pointing."

"Heh, yeah. Little monster."

Dipper walked through a wall adjacent to the front doors. Grenda squeezed his hand tightly, and he squeezed it back,  resisting the urge to run out of the whole place before it was too late.

They followed the guard as he stepped into a roomy, albeit rusty-looking elevator. When he stepped out, they darted around him. Dipper paused for a moment, then turned left, following the direction the guard was walking in. _Almost time to get out the big guns._ They had plenty of emergency gear, but if all went smoothly, they'd only need two things.

The guard paced along the rows of prison cells, glancing at each inmate to make sure they were sleeping. When he reached Gideon's cell, Dipper stopped moving. _Time to get him out without the guard noticing._

He rummaged through his pockets, finally taking out a key infused with powerful magic. This key was the reason why they couldn't bring any cellphones along with them. It didn't fit the lock to the cell, but it _did_ make electronics go haywire and temporarily shut down. If the journal was right, this key could even shut down the alarms and the emergency shut-down equipment.

He took a deep breath, and jiggled the key into the door. At first, nothing happened. And then, a jolt of electricity shot through him. Mabel and Grenda cried out as the electric shock carried over to them.

Gideon woke up, furrowing his brow as he looked around with one eye open. He stood up. "Who goes there?"

Dipper kicked the door a couple of times, until it swung open, internal mechanisms fried by the magical interference.

"Pines?" Gideon whispered, touching his hair as if it wasn't already perfectly in place.

Dipper took a piece of gum out of his pocket. When he held it at arm's length away from his body, it began to be visible. "It's us," Dipper whispered. "Chew this and you'll be invisible for long enough to get you out of here."

Gideon grabbed the gum and popped it in his mouth. He faded out of visibility.

"Ok, now follow me," Dipper whispered. "We're heading for the elevator."

The guard was already panicking. His walkie-talkie wasn't working. He ran for the elevator, but the doors wouldn't open. With a strangled gasp, he went running in ad different direction. Dipper and the others followed.

"Hello? Hello? There's a power shut down! Turn on emergency power! I repeat, turn on emergency power!" the guard shouted into his walkie-talkie. He got out a set of keys, unlocking a door that was apparently locked through physical mechanisms rather than by computers and high-tech stuff. Before Dipper could squeeze in with him, he slammed the door shut behind himself, locking it again."

"Oh man," Mabel whispered. "Paperclip?"

Dipper looked at the lock. "I've got a lock pick. Asked Grunkle Stan about it and he gave he a whole lock-picking toolbox."

He knelt down, fiddling the lock-picking device around inside the lock. After a minute, the door swung open.

They all rushed downstairs.

As they left the building, Dipper briefly had the thought that _this is too easy._ On missions like this, everything was supposed to go wrong. Things were supposed to fall apart, and be glued back together by fifteen different half-finished plans all at once. But sneaking back out towards the bushes where Wendy was hiding didn't take any effort at all.

As they arrived at the trees, everyone began fading back into existence, except for Gideon.

"Gideon?" Dipper whispered.

He felt a poke in his back. "I'm here, alright. Quit talkin' and let's get outta here!"

Dipper nodded, hopping into the golf cart beside Wendy.

 

Grenda folded her arms. "Wait a minute, Mabel. Why did you guys rescue _Gideon?_ "

Dipper groaned. "There's no time! They'll find out he's missing any minute now! It's for something reallly important, trust me, now let's go!"

Mabel hugged her friend. "You've _got_ to believe me. We neeeed Gideon. I wouldn't set him free out of the goodness of my heart."

Grenda didn't move. "Need him for what?"

Mabel glanced anxiously at Dipper. "Grenda, now's not the time!"

Grenda grabbed Mabel's arm. " _No,_ Mabel, now is the _perfect_ time! I had a dream, and I woke up in the middle of the woods, and someone warned me Gideon was going to hurt you. So I have to protect you!"

Dipper went perfectly still.

Mabel tugged against Grenda's grip. "Come _onnnn,_ if we're caught breaking Gideon out, we'll _all_ be arrested!"

Dipper hopped out of the golf cart, walking quickly towards Grenda and Mabel. " _Dreams?"_ he whispered in Mabel's ear.

"Why are you guys whispering?" Grenda asked, sounding perplexed. "Don't you trust me, Mabel? I have _secret powers_ or something, and they said Gideon's going to put you in danger! I had a dream where I met a-"

She went silent.

Mabel jerked her arm away from Grenda, breaking free of her grip. She was starting to catch on to what Dipper was implying. She wanted to back away, but at the same time, Dipper was marching forward, looking like he wanted to punch Grenda in the face. " _Take off the sunglasses."_

Grenda grinned, whipping the sunglasses off her face. "You got me!" Her eyes were yellow, with black slits. "I had to take over before she blew my cover, talking about her dumb dream, but I guess you two are always one step ahead of me!"

She... or was it he?... blinked one eye at a time. "Haha, well, it doesn't matter now."

Wendy got out of the golf cart, squinting at Bill-Grenda in bewilderment. "Is Grenda secretly evil or what?"

Grenda lunged at Dipper. Wendy dived towards him at the same time, dragging him backwards before Grenda could catch him. "Let's get _out_ of here!" Wendy exclaimed, shoving Dipper into the golf cart. "Mabel, hurry!"

Mabel was shaking with rage. "Bill Grenda.... _Brenda..._ How _could_ you-!!?"

Dipper jumped out of the golf cart and went running for Mabel, dragging her backwards. She hardly budged. "No, Dipper. We need to save Grenda before it's too late!"

She shuddered. "Remember the note Bill left when he was Bipper?"

Dipper shuddered as well. Then he looked at Bill. "Uh... this wasn't in the plan, Mabel! He's not supposed to show up until _after_ everyone's-"

Brenda slapped her face with excessive force. "Oh, of _course!_ The _zodiac!_ Ahahahaha, so _smart_! What is this... four of you? Good luck finding the rest of them!"

Mabel screeched out a battle cry, charging towards Brenda before Dipper could react. She pummeled Brenda for a brief second, until Brenda stopped laughing and grabbed her around the waist, raising her into the air. "Oh-ho-ho, this body is _way_ better than Dipper's. It has _muscles_.

"No!" Dipper cried.

Wendy burst out of the bushes, wielding a big, long stick. "Get out of there, evil Grenda!"

"What's this, ganging up on me?"

Brenda dropped Mabel, clutching her knee. "Ow, who kicked me?"

"Li'l old _me,_ that's who!" came Gideon's voice from nowhere.

"Giiiideon! My old pal! What do you say we ditch these people and dominate the universe together?"

Brenda staggered backwards. "Ow, hey, stop!" She flailed her arms and legs around, trying to hit Gideon. After a second, she made contact. "Boo-yah!"

Brenda kicked at the grass. "Ugh, these human bodies are so _useless_!"

Wendy, Dipper, Mabel, and possibly Gideon charged at her again. Mabel arrived first, clinging to Brenda's face and slapping it back and forth. "Get, out, of, my, friend's, body!" she yelled.

"Or what? You'll punch her in the face?" Brenda laughed. "I don't _have_ a body, kid. Remember? The only one you're hurting is-"

A lightbulb seemed to go off in Brenda's head. Wendy and Dipper grabbed her by one arm each, dragging her towards the golf cart. She screamed as loudly as she could, and Dipper let go of her arm, shoving his hands over her mouth. "Shut up!"

Brenda used her free arm to punch Wendy with all of her force. Mabel jumped away from her, looking for something on the ground, like a tree branch or a baseball bat.

Mabel seized a stick at last, and went running at Brenda. Wendy drew a knife from some kind of secret compartment strapped to her ankle, and followed suit.

Brenda collapsed to the ground, blinking in confusion. When she opened her eyes, they were normal. "Guys...? _Mabel_? Aaaaah!"

She flung her arms up to protect herself from the stick. Mabel shrieked, throwing the stick in another direction at the last second. "Grenda! Are you-"

Wendy skidded to a halt, staring at the knife. "Dude... I was about to-"

Grenda's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and suddenly Brenda was back. In the split-second before it registered what had just happened, Grenda grabbed the knife from Wendy's hand, holding it up to her own neck. "You all are getting to be a nuisance! Well listen, I don't have time for this. Fight any more, and Grenda _gets it_."

"No!" Mabel cried.

Dipper clenched his fists. "What do you want?"

Brenda giggled. "Oh, I want _lots of things._ But right now? I want you all to hop into the golf cart."

Wendy raised her fist a little. Mabel grabbed her arm. " _Let's just go_."

"That's the spirit!" Brenda chuckled. "Wouldn't want anything to _happen_ to this gal!"

Wendy hopped into the front of the golf cart. Brenda moved the knife closer to her throat, and Wendy moved to the back seat with a glare. "I still don't get what's going on," she whispered to Dipper, who was in the back seat already.

Mabel stood perfectly still, tears welling up in her eyes. "G-Grenda..."

"Yeesh, kid. Relax," Brenda said, grabbing a now-barely-visible Gideon and holding him under one arm. "Tell you what. You can sit in the front seat with me!"

Mabel opened her mouth to say something along the lines of "I'd rather die", but looking at Wendy and Dipper occupying all the space back there already, she simply sighed and sat in shotgun.

Brenda twisted the key in ignition, and the golf cart started putting forward. She slammed the brake pedal. Everyone flew forward. "Whoops!"

She slammed the go pedal, and it zoomed forward. "Ahahaha!" She swerved from side to side, finally turning it in the right direction and zipping off down the road, knife still in one hand.

"Question?" Dipper asked. "Where are we going?"

"Good question, Dipper!" Brenda made a thumbs-up, momentarily letting go of the wheel. The golf cart flew sideways, before she grabbed the wheel again and re-aligned the wheels with the road. "I guess you'll know when you find out!"

Police sirens became audible in the distance. Brenda glanced over her shoulder, then made a sharp left, swerving into the forest. Everyone screamed (except for Brenda) as they swerved inbetween trees and skidded over tree roots, and almost hit a deer.

"Shut up, you idiots!" Brenda whispered. "We're on the run!"

Everyone exchanged glances. It had crossed everyone's mind to make a ruckus so they would be saved by the police. But then they remembered the knife. Not the mention the fact that Gideon _was_ actually in this golf cart, the very fugitive they were looking for. And they went quiet.

Brenda stopped the cart. "Alright. Who should I kill first?"

 


	14. A Dream

Mabel didn't understand how she'd fallen asleep.

"Aaaah!" she shouted, slapping herself on the face with both hands. "Wake up! Everyone's in danger you stupid butt!"

Bill Cipher popped into existence beside her. "Oh ho! I've been waiting for _so long_ to get alone with _you_!"

" _You_!" Mabel exclaimed, summoning kitten-fist-guns. "Get out of my head, you evil triangle!"

Bill shrunk down to the size of a pebble. "Don't sweat it, kid! I'm not here to steal your memories!"

"You'd better not!" Mabel growled, dismissing her kitten guns and pointing her bare fingers at the tiny monster.

Bill waved his little hands, and a big, cushy red throne emerged from the ground beneath Mabel's feet. "Take a seat, relax!" Bill said smoothly.

Mabel frowned. "What do you want?"

"Again with the questions! Don't be so nosy, kid! I know what you're trying to do."

Mabel glared at him.

He crossed his arms. "You wanna _destroy me_. So honestly kid, I don't see how _I'm_ the bad guy by trying to defend myself by killing you first!"

Mabel got out of the throne, and stood up tall. "Why are you talking to me? Am I _dead_?"

"Nope," Bill said with a yawn. "You're in police custody. Geez, do I really have to go over this with you? Police caught up, shot Grenda in the foot, knocked the rest of you out with chloroform or something, and I was kicked out of Grenda's body the second the bullet hit her."

Mabel gasped. "Is Grenda okay?!"

"Probably!" Bill said, winking one side of his eye. "The point is, I didn't get to kill any of you, big disappointment, etcetera, but I _did_ get to have a one-on-one chat with _you_! What a treat!"

"You want to make a deal, don't you!" Mabel said, sounding accusatory.

"Well, of course! What else do you expect from me, the child murdering all powerful being from another dimension? I wanna make a _d e a l_."

"Well, you can forget it! I'll never shake your ugly little hand!"

"Never? If you _say_ so..."

"I know so!"

"Alright, alright! You haven't even heard the terms, yet! What if I told you, there was a way to-"

"NOT listening!" Mabel yelled, covering her ears with her hands.

"That's not gonna work. You're on my turf, kid."

Mabel sighed, uncovering her ears. "You're an evil turd, you know that?"

Bill ignored her. "All I'm saying is, I make deals and then I trick people. Why couldn't you do the same thing to me? I doubt you _could_ , but there's always that possibility! So making a deal with me doesn't necessarily bend things in my favor! And anyway, I don't have anything specific to tell you right _now_. All I want is a promise that if you're at your wits end, and you need a little help, you'll sleep outside of the shield around your house, so we can have a talk!"

"I'll never need your "help", Bill!"

"Of course you won't! I'm just sayin', I can make things happen." He produced a business card from thin air, handing it to Mabel. "Call me if you need any help."

Mabel crumpled the business card up in her hand, tossing it over her shoulder. "All you ever want to do is possess people. You're not very creative, dum dum."

Bill laughed. "Oh, Ford hasn't told you? We made a deal _yeeeaaars_ ago! And... okay, it did involve me possessing him, but it was more about building that big stupid dangerous _portal_ together! Ask him about it sometime! I can do looots of things, and possession is just one of the more useful ones!"

Mabel crossed her arms defiantly. "In your dreams, sicko."

Bill laughed again. "This _is_ your dreams! Remember, you're going to wake up soon, but I'm here whenever you're ready to make a deallllllLL!"

Mabel woke up, Bill's stupid glowy eye in her mind's eye.

She was in the back of a police car, handcuffed along with Dipper, Wendy, and Gideon.

 


	15. Consequences

It took a while to get out of police custody. First, Dipper had to remember Stan's phone number. Then, _both_ their grunkles showed up, looking quite... well, disgruntled. With twice the grunkling power, they scolded the twins to infinity and back.

Gideon was back behind bars. So much for their dubious deal. Grenda was in a lot of trouble with everyone until Grunkle Ford managed to convince the authorities that she hadn't been in control when she'd been caught trying to murder children.

And then, once they were in the car on their way home, Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy were in even worse trouble.

Ford seemed the angriest. "Breaking Gideon out of prison?! Dealing with Bill Cipher?!?!"

Now that they were in the car, Mabel finally said, "Me and Dipper were going to save everyone from Bill and we figured out the zodiac and if Grenda hadn't been tricked by him it would have all worked out fine!"

Dipper squirmed in his seat.

Ford went quiet. "The zodiac? That's a myth. You risked all that based on _that_?" His sigh stung more than anything else. "The thing you need to know about Bill is that he's always got one up on you. If something can go wrong, it _will_ go wrong, and it will be because of Bill Cipher."

"I just wanted to prove I can stay with you and Dipper..." Mabel replied.

Ford ignored her. "Dipper, I can't believe you."

"And Wendy!" Stan added.

Dipper looked at Mabel, and they exchanged a melancholy look.

"Encouraging your sister like that," Ford grumbled.

Dipper frowned. "Wait, what?" The frown deepened into a scowl. "I'm not leaving Mabel behind."

Mabel stared at him.

So did Ford. After a pause, he said, "Fine, Mabel can stay! I'll see what I can do." He turned all the way around in his seat to lock eyes with Mabel. "But if you do something stupid and dangerous again like that, I'm not letting _either_ of you stay here."

Dipper and Mabel squee-d, hugging each other. "Thank you Great Uncle Ford!!"

Stan looked at Ford. "Whoa, why'd they make that sound? They're supposed to be in big trouble!"

Ford laughed drily, shaking his head. "I hope I don't regret this."


End file.
